Announced in early November, we've managed to score a photo gallery and ears on with the new?Bowers and Wilkins MM-1 PC speakers?that according to the company will "revolutionise the experience" of music, video and games.

The speakers, which as you can see from the pictures look like two large towers, are stylishly designed, bringing with them some of the styling found on the B&W Zeppelin and the?Zeppelin Mini.

It's to be expected. After all the product has been built by the same team behind the company's?Zeppelin iPod speaker, and each channel contains a full range, active, near field monitor with two drive units that include an aluminium dome tweeter for snazzier treble.

Bass output shouldn't be too much of a problem either, says the company, thanks to various proprietary DSP techs that have been crammed in.

There's a headphone jack in there so you can switch over to quiet mode while at your desk and the whole system connects to your PC or Mac via a USB socket so it can do the audio encoding and processing itself rather than letting your computer do it.

Sound wise, we heard a very early pre-production model (we actually saw them a day after the announcement, but they were empty shells) and are happy to report that they produce a very mellow sound that would happily fill your desk with sweet music. We were subjected to Seal, Razorback, and Pink, not a great choice admittedly, but the speakers coped well even though B&W were keen to point out a lot of work was still to be done. It would be interesting to see how they perform with some Dylan for vocals and Crystal Method or The Prodigy when turned up loud.?

We will wait for the final thing before giving a verdict, but from what we've heard so far, if you're looking for PC speakers with good sound and great style, this might just be what you were looking for.

We will keep you posted.

Tags: Audio Speakers PC speakers Bowers and Wilkins Bowers and Wilkins MM-1

PHOTOS: Bowers and Wilkins MM-1 ears on originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:01:19 +0000

There is no greater feel-good story in audio than a company that, having fallen on hard times, manages to pull itself up by its boot straps, reorganize, and re-enter the competitive marketplace. Micromega is one such company. A little background. Since the 1980s, Paris-based Micromega was a highly regarded and innovative player in the high end. For example, in 1987 Micromega launched the CDF-1 Hitech, the industry’s first top-loading CD player. This was followed a year later with the first CD player with a separate transport and D/A converter from a high-end company.

It seems strange to think that one-time MP3-player market leader and current "catch-up merchant" Creative has only just arrived with its first touchscreen player, but in an attempt to appeal to the tactile generation it has upgraded its impressive Zen X-Fi for just this purpose.

The X-Fi 2 ditches the keypad that used to sit alongside the display and now simply offers a "home" button to return to the main menu. The rest of the controls are?operated via the touchscreen interface and aside from a microSD card slot for expanding the generous internal storage (the X-Fi 2 is available at capacities from 8 to 32GB) there are no other notable external features.

Creative has gone the whole hog with touchscreen operation then, and it wasn’t long before we were cursing the lack of a dedicated volume adjustor to avoid the rigmarole of unlocking and trawling through menus. Unfortunately this isn’t too easy to do as this is far from the most responsive touchscreen on the market, paling in comparison to Apple’s (admittedly far more expensive) recent efforts.

While things do improve once you get used to the pressure and angle at which you need to browse the features and settings, it’s fair to say that we were a little let down by what should have been the headline feature of this new player.

Creative appears to have taken a rather token approach to the new operation, preferring to rely on its strengths – namely the X-Fi sound schemes and value for money – to appeal to the modern consumer. Luckily it certainly knows what it’s doing in this area, and the audio quality available by tweaking the range of different effects is excellent. We were also pleasantly surprised by the solid, well-rounded ear-buds supplied, which are far better than you would typically find on a portable player.

One advantage touchscreen adoption does bring is a larger display, and the 3-inch (400 x 240) LCD is certainly clear and colourful enough to do justice to video and photo content, being just about big enough to enjoy feature-length clips on the move.

File support is also very good here and the X-Fi 2 is able to handle a range of conventional formats as well as less common FLAC and AAC audio. There are also a healthy range of additional features that include an FM radio, clock, alarm, calendar, task and contacts list along with a voice recorder via the built-in microphone.

A decent battery life allows for around 20 hours of audio playback and just over 4 hours for video, and it’s fairly slim and light weighing in at 75g.

We were extremely impressed by the audio quality on offer with the X-Fi 2 and suitably comfortable with the large, colourful display, but it’s a shame that the touchscreen operation wasn’t given more attention, particularly as this (along with the slightly larger display) will be the main draw for most. Creative still offers a versatile, solid player at a very reasonable price but those who are expecting it to compete with Apple’s superbly responsive iPod touch from an operational point of view will have to accept this sacrifice for the admittedly substantial savings on offer.

Verdict:

Creative is up there with the best on the market in terms of audio quality with its X-Fi range, and this new model would certainly suit those who prioritise the viewing of video or photos on the move. These factors are its saving grace as the headline touchscreen isn’t great, and though this would have been forgivable if common operations such as adjusting volume were catered for using dedicated controls, we can’t help but think Creative missed a trick with its first ever touchscreen player, even if it is significantly cheaper than similar rivals.

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Tags: Audio MP3 players Creative Creative Zen X-Fi2

Creative Zen X-Fi 2 MP3 player originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:49:52 +0000

High-end home ent manufacturer Linn has announced it has taken the "dramatic decision" to stop making CD players.

Linn will cease production from the start of 2010 to focus on digital music streaming systems, sales of which have apparently outpaced those of CD players over the last year.

A real sign o' the times story, it seems this makes Linn the first manufacturer to make this landmark move.

Linn's MD, Gilad Tiefenbrun, says of the move: "Our customers have fast recognised the limitations of CD players and in the age of home networking, people now want better control of their music and the ability to enjoy it in any room of their home".

Tags: Audio CD Linn Media streaming Music Biz

Linn announces it's quitting the CD player market originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:21:32 +0000

In Japan, Sony has outlined basic plans for a new online store that, if the plans pan out, will manage to rival iTunes, Amazon, YouTube and Flickr - at least for Sony customers.

Sony Online Service, as it's been dubbed at this early stage, will offer digital content including music, movies, and books as well as other downloadable applications for Sony's entire range of products and will be based on Sony's popular PlayStation Network offering for the gaming side of its business.

A movie into this kind of software - if done well - is seen as a clever way for Sony to improve its fortunes: "Sony has been too focused on hardware", Tokai Tokyo Research Center analyst Osamu Hirose told BusinessWeek.

"It has to focus on networked products [and] delivering digital entertainment to consumers".

Sony will try one interesting way to try and differentiate its service from iTunes, or other such offerings, by giving users the chance to also upload media, such as home made video, photos and "other digital content " to their personal online accounts.

We will keep you posted on this one.

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Tags: Software Sony iTunes Audio YouTube Home Cinema Gaming Playstation Network Sony Online Service

Sony Online Service iTunes rival announced originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:44:02 +0000

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The word “audiophile” has always struck me as one that carries two messages. One speaks of appreciation, connoisseurship, a passion for great sound and the equipment that delivers it, the closest thing indeed to the absolute sound of live music—while the other seems loaded with elitism, snobbery, a specialized club for the golden-eared only, a place where sound (form) trumps music (substance).

by Bruce Heran

Good listening, Bruce

• Simple Low Resistance Measurement Jig
• DIY Amplifier (Speaker) Dummy Load

===
See the DIY Audio Projects website for more project ideas.
Need parts for your projects - try Tube Depot for your vacuum tube needs and Parts Express for almost everything DIY Audio and Video.

 Linn Products has announced that it will cease production of its range of CD players from the start of 2010. Managing Director Gilad Tiefenbrun said Linn will concentrate instead on its DS digital music streaming products. “Our customers have fast recognized the limitations of CD players in the age of home networking,” said Tiefenbrun at a press conference in London’s Covent Garden. “CD players no longer belong in the specialist domain.”

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Mark Lehman and the TAS staff

As originally published in The Absolute Sound, this article addressed three genres of music: Rock, Pop, and Folk; Classical; and Jazz. As a convenience for our online readers, we have broken the article into three parts—each covering one genre grouping. –Chris Martens

Want to know what's been hot in the world of technology and gadgets today? Of course you do. The news roundup always aims to bring you a nice mix of the stories from the last 24 hours and today is no exception as we have a myriad of news as well as a cheeky review creeping in there.

First up is the story that Sony Ericsson's Nexus Android skin - designed to give a? more graphical user interface - might be available on devices other than the Xperia X10. Keeping with the Xperia X10 theme, if you're keen to find out some initial thoughts on the new handset you'll want to check out our First-Look review.

There's also news that the Apple tablet has been delayed due to the introduction of an OLED screen, the Nokia N900 goes on sale in the US minus a carrier for $649 and the Sony Reader Daily Edition is now available for pre-order.? Here are the top stories from the last 24 hours:

• NEWS:Sony Ericsson's Nexus Android skin promised for more devices
• NEWS:Apple tablet delayed by late decision to add OLED display
• NEWS:Nokia N900 goes on sale in US
• NEWS:PS3 Remote Play for Android "makes sense"
• NEWS:MS Office 2010 beta now available
• REVIEW:Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mobile phone - First Look
• NEWS:TomTom for iPhone updated
• NEWS:Sony Reader Daily Edition available for pre-order
• NEWS:Want a big TV? Don't move to California
• NEWS:WEBSITE OF THE DAY - Fingertips

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Tags: Audio Car And GPS Dad Gadgets Gaming Hardware Home And Kitchen Home Cinema Phones Cameras Software Sports Fitness

Daily news roundup: Xperia X10, Apple tablet, Nokia N900 and more originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:29:22 +0000

Excerpted and adapted from The Complete Guide to High-End Audio (Third Edition).
Copyright ©1994–2009 by Robert Harley. hifibooks.com

 
 
It had to happen. We've had audiophile furniture, acoustic wall coverings, audiophile-grade power sockets, there was even a company making audio carpets. It was only a matter of time before someone started to think of the perfect audiophile chair. The Ballerina Sweetspot now completes the audiophile home catalog.
 

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• MOSFET Power Supply
• Variable Low-Pass : 40 Hz-250 Hz
• Variable Input Level (Gain) Control : 6V-200mV
• Variable Bass Boost : 0-18dB
• Variable Subsonic Filter : 10Hz~100Hz, 24dB/Octave
• Sub Sonic Switch
• Thermal / Overload / Short Circuit Protection
• Soft Turn On/Off
• Power & Protection LED Indicator
• Low Level RCA Input : 10K Ohms
• Line Level RCA Output

(Note: This is somewhat of a hybrid blog---part news story, part blog, and, hopefully, part forum. If you already have auditioned these reissues, please add your comments below. Thanks!) 
 

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